THIRTY years ago this week a group of Liverpool fans repeatedly charged towards supporters in section Z of the Heysel stadium. Inadequate chicken wire fence did nothing to prevent them running free among rival supporters and 12 policemen stationed to keep them apart simply ran away, according to eye-witnesses.
Fleeing from a quick fire series of three stampedes, terrified Juventus fans retreated to a corner of the Z section and tried to climb a wall to escape. In a tumble down stadium ill-suited to the occasion of a European Cup final, a wall crumbled and fans were crushed to death in a sickening human pile up.
Thirty nine people — 32 from Italy, four from Belgium, two from France, one from Northern Ireland, the youngest 11 years old — died.
Six hundred more were injured.
Nothing can ever excuse the actions of those wearing the colours of Liverpool that made the charges that day. They had to live with the consequences of their actions. But at least they came home.
Thirty-nine football fans went to watch the game they loved and didn’t ever return to the arms of their relatives.
If a collective anger from their families and fellow Juventus supporters is aimed towards Liverpool the club, Liverpool the city and Liverpool the people, it is perfectly understandable. Their anger is also aimed at the football authorities, the police forces on the day and even their own football club — for playing the match, for celebrating the victory, for doing little to remember their loved ones for too long (a charge that can also be levelled at Liverpool FC).
The needless deaths of 39 football fans on May 29, 1985, has been — and will forever remain — an indelible stain on the reputation of Liverpool fans. But that it is used as an opportunity to point score is a sadness in itself. It is also among the motivations for trying to put the record straight with what we are doing here.
Despite being a group that runs into millions worldwide, and embraces all ages, Liverpool fans are routinely labelled “murderers” by some, whether they were among the 59,000 fans to attend the 1985 European Cup final or not. Whether they were among the much smaller number that made the charges or not.
Those Liverpool fans identified from video footage as being key to the tragic events at Heysel were brought to justice.
In September 1987, following an investigation by Merseyside Police, Britain’s biggest ever mass-extradition began with 25 fans transported from Wormwood Scrubs in London to an RAF base in Oxfordshire.
They were flown to Belgium in a military aircraft and driven to the law courts in central Brussels, where they were questioned and formally remanded by magistrates.
One man remained in the UK awaiting trial for a separate offence.
Of the accused, 13 were from Merseyside, one from Bristol, two from Cheshire, two from London, two from Staffordshire, two from Greater Manchester, one from Cumbria, one from Southampton, one from Suffolk and one from Lancashire.
The youngest of the number was 18, the oldest 29. Their jobs ranged from painter, rail guard and labourer, to miner, electrician, carpenter and greengrocer’s assistant.
Fourteen of the extradited fans were found guilty of voluntary manslaughter after a five-month trial.
Seven men were given three-year prison terms and the remainder received three-year suspended sentences.
Jacques Georges, the Uefa president at the time, and Hans Bangerter, his general secretary, were threatened with imprisonment but given conditional discharges.
Albert Roosens, the former secretary-general of the Belgian Football Union (BFU), was given a six-month suspended prison sentence for “regrettable negligence” with regard to ticketing. So was gendarme captain Johan Mahieu, who was in charge of policing the stands at Heysel.
Two days after the 1985 final Uefa announced an indefinite ban on English clubs. It was upheld for five years, with Liverpool serving a sixth as punishment for their supporters’ behaviour.
Those are the facts.
Around the facts is a wider tale; context for the sad events of that May day 30 years ago. That context warrants discussion, here and elsewhere. But it is only that. Context. Not an excuse.
Here on The Anfield Wrap, we want to talk — fairly, honestly and respectfully – about Heysel. This week’s anniversary has offered us the opportunity to do just that.
We want to challenge the myth that Liverpool supporters will not speak of that day or accept that some of their own — from the same streets, supporting the same team — were culpable in the deaths of fellow football fans.
Heysel is routinely referred to as the forgotten tragedy in the wider world, perhaps reflecting the history of inadequate and inappropriate responses from both Liverpool and Juventus football clubs.
But among fans? It is not forgotten by any Liverpool fan I know. Nor should it be. It appears the same applies in Italy among the Juventus fans.
My first-hand recollections of what happened that night are vague. I was eight. Nearly nine. And I was in the back room of my parent’s house rather than on the terraces in Brussels.
I have the vaguest of memories of watching confusing news reports and disturbing images where football should have been, nothing more. But I have friends and family who were there on the day. I have heard the stories first hand, read the books, watched the videos and seen the pictures.
It was a different world; a shocking contrast to the football matches of today which have become — in the main, and in England at least — family-friendly occasions.
Three decades have passed and there are generations of fans who will know little of Heysel. They will not know of how it was to be a football supporter in the 1980s. Of the hooliganism that prevailed among the support of almost every club. Of the woefully inadequate infrastructure of the game. Of the ill treatment and unwarranted stereotyping of the common fan by the wider world.
What they do know and experience is that some rival fans think we should be reminded that we are “murderers”. We are told that “we’re always the victims but it’s never our fault” while some supporters chant about winning European Cups “without killing anyone”. “Thirty nine Italians can’t be wrong,” they say.
Others ask: “What about justice for the 39?”And when we discuss what happened at Hillsborough, they ask: “What about Heysel?”
The suggestion — sometimes implicit, often explicit — is that Liverpool fans are willfully hiding from the truth. Desperately covering up a dark day. That we will not talk about those who 30 years ago travelled abroad to watch a European Cup final against Juventus and returned to England with blood on their hands after they were aided and abetted by a depressing set of circumstances that should never have been allowed to occur.
So we’ve talked about it.
At length. In depth. From all angles.
To people who were there on the day. To supporters who recognise fans at the front of the Liverpool charge that were known hooligans. To long-standing fans of the club who remember the dilapidated stadium in Brussels, and the disorganised chaos of the policing and ticket selling on the day. To Italians. To Juventus fans. To national journalists deployed to Brussels to tell the tale.
We have sifted through the boxes of statements from the accused and witnesses that were presented to the courts as evidence. We have reproduced extracts from a book that was painstakingly researched and written in the wake of Heysel only for it never to see the light of day and lie gathering dust as the events at Hillsborough left a world without an appetite for its contents.
Liverpool the club once tried to brush Heysel under the carpet. There is plenty of evidence which says Liverpool the people did not do the same. We’re not doing that now, either.
We hope that our coverage of what happened 30 years ago can challenge some of the myths around Heysel and the reaction to it in Liverpool. It is a low point in the history of the club. But that doesn’t mean it should not be discussed.
It is not to seek forgiveness nor friendship. It is not to score points or distort the truth. It’s a matter of record. A matter of respect. And a matter of honesty.
May 29, 1985 will be a date never forgotten in the city of Liverpool and among Liverpool fans. Nor should it be. The 39 people who died at Heysel will always be remembered:
Rocco Acerra (29)
Bruno Balli (50)
Alfons Bos (35)
Giancarlo Bruschera (21)
Andrea Casula (11)
Giovanni Casula (44)
Nino Cerullo (24)
Willy Chielens (41)
Giuseppina Conti (17)
Dirk Daenecky (38)
Dionisio Fabbro (51)
Jacques François (45)
Eugenio Gagliano (35)
Francesco Galli (25)
Giancarlo Gonnelli (20)
Alberto Guarini (21)
Giovacchino Landini (50)
Roberto Lorentini (31)
Barbara Lusci (58)
Franco Martelli (22)
Loris Messore (28)
Gianni Mastroiaco (20)
Sergio Bastino Mazzino (38)
Luciano Rocco Papaluca (38)
Luigi Pidone (31)
Benito Pistolato (50)
Patrick Radcliffe (38)
Domenico Ragazzi (44)
Antonio Ragnanese (49)
Claude Robert (27)
Mario Ronchi (43)
Domenico Russo (28)
Tarcisio Salvi (49)
Gianfranco Sarto (47)
Amedeo Giuseppe Spolaore (55)
Mario Spanu (41)
Tarcisio Venturin (23)
Jean Michel Walla (32)
Claudio Zavaroni (28).
Rest In Peace.
Thanks to: Peter Millward, Geoff Pearson, David Stuckey, Tony Evans, Oliver Kay, Chris Rowland, Peter Hooton, Mike Nevin, John Mackin, Peter Marshall, Francesco Caremani and Serafino Ingardia.
LISTEN: Podcast – Heysel 30 Years
READ: Heysel 30 Years: The Barbarians are Coming
READ: Heysel 30 Years: When In Rome
READ: Heysel 30 Years: Why Did No-One See It Coming?
READ: Heysel 30 Years: An Eyewitness Account Of May 29, 1985 In Brussels
READ: Heysel 30 Years: Oh God, What Have We Done?
READ: Heysel 30 Years: The Italian View
READ: Heysel 30 Years: What About Justice For The 39?
READ: Heysel 30 Years: We Meet Again
READ: Heysel 30 Years: The Story Behind The Story
Pics: PA Images
I’ve read all the articles today and I’m going to listen to the podcast later. You guys have been doing incredible work. I really hope that LFC supporters and really any football supporter recognize it.
I wish there were 1000s more like you around and you had a larger voice at the club. To say you guys care would be an understatement. Thank you.
I took a taxi recently in Liverpool because I needed to get quickly from above Queen’s Square to the Albert Dock. The driver was friendly and we chatted. When we reached the Albert Dock and I paid the fare, he stayed for 10 minutes and we continued our conversation.
He is a life-long Liverpool supporter who routinely went to every home and away game for decades, including across Europe. I asked if he was at Heysel. He was reluctant to speak about it, but I tried to coax him to share his story. He said what really happened there — as he experienced it — has not been given proper attention.
He explained that some of the Juventus fans had their faces partly covered by black scarves. They are part of a gang — he said the name but I don’t remember it. They taunted and abused the Liverpool fans across the wire fence and threw things over at them. There was a heavy police presence and some Liverpool fans tried to appeal to the police to protect them. The police mocked the Liverpool fans and advanced on them threateningly with batons raised.
Some Liverpool fans, including a 13-year-old boy, tried to hang flags over the fence to try to at least partially block out view of the Juventus fans. The Juventus set the bottom of the flags on fire. There was a scuffle in which the young boy was knocked down and injured. The now-enraged Liverpool fans pressed forward to protect the boy, causing a surge. The rest is history.
This is one man’s recollection. I have no idea if it was ever entered into evidence. But I saw with my own eyes the pain and suffering in that man’s eyes, the sorrow etched in his face — far too old a face for a man of his age. Liverpool fans have suffered and continue to suffer over what happened at Heysel, whether they are able to speak about it or not.
I was told that story about the young boy over 20 years ago by an equally gutted pair of Liverpool fans. Grown men, not kids. I think it’s almost got to the point where it’s not worth talking about Heysel with a lot of people because they’ve made their mind up.
I was sat in the stands and watched the same as that man, the whole day ( as usual when arranged by EUFA ) was a farce – EU Filnal in a stadium not fit for division 4′ I said on the day ! And that was before the wall collapsed.
RIP the 39 I grieve for them and their families often.
Just got thru reason all posts, difficult and harrowing stuff.. The bereaved families deserve more recognition than dickheads point scoring at football matches in a foreign country. Not proud it took our club so long to get its act together either..that said,credit where it’s due, great work lads,gareths piece is excellent and Ollie Kay shows again he’s the best sports journo in England..
John Smith the LFC Chairman at the time tried on numerous occasions to get the venue changed. Stopping short of begging EUFA and the BFU to move the final for it ultimately to fall on deaf ears. JS pointed out that by having a ‘neutral zone’ was testament to a catastrophe. He pointed out that Belgium was home to the biggest European fan base (ultras?) of any side in Europe and yes it was Juve so imagine the ease with purchasing tickets for this zone.
We can’t change history but we can change attitude and I wish to offer my condolences to the families of the 39. RIP
Heysel had been the big black mark on Liverpool’s illustrious history, something hardly mentioned. I feel bad about 39 people losing their lives, however hearing the back story of what led to the incident from the comments now puts this into perspective. Crowd control is way better these days
Through my life – from boy to teenager, to twenty something, and now in my middle 40s – football has been an absolute joy. Playing football. Watching Liverpool lift trophies from afar. Both have given me more joy and happiness than most other moments in my life.
I was a young boy when Heysel happened, a little older than Gareth, and I struggled to process the terrible things that I saw on television. This wasn’t what football was supposed to be.
The 80s were good and bad, especially in South Wales. The government was destroying our communities. There was a lot of anger. There was a lot of pointlessness. There were not many options for boys a little older than me. Casual football hooliganism was a thing. It was something of a badge that marked you out as being cool – those older boys would go to Cardiff City in their designer clothes and come back with tales of bravado. Probably all lager and bullshit.
I am sure the same was true at that time in Liverpool.
But when you see the outcome of actions – made with a minimum of thought about consequences by the fans that charged or by the authorities in charge – then that is a dark day. Football is joy. It is also pain. But it should not have been that terribly painful on that day and beyond.
My condolences to the families of the fans killed.
To me that dont cover it from our side..yes they are facts nothing gets said about Juventus fans running amok for the best part of an hour which to be quite frank was the fuse that lit the whole tragedy..my memory of that day (and i was in Brussels from 9 am on the day) was that it was a lovely sunny day ..friendly…up until about 6.30..mass Juve fans arrived and the mood changed. We went into the Athletics stadium and shortly after got talking to Italians by us. Soon Juventus fans started running down the pitch throwing bricks, unopened cans etc into Lfc fans ..we were by corner flag opposite side to where wall collapsed. Police stood with German Shephards and let them go back several times and reload..after a while skirmishes broke out and to be quite honest..at the time in England it was handbags..crowd running at each other..it was the Unfit Stadium and the wall that collapsed that unfortunately killed those poor people. Uefa had been asked by both Lfc and Juve to change the venue..since when before had Lfc fans caused trouble at a European game..its sad, but makes my blood boil too. We were screaming at the Begian police for help..we were ignored
This is fantastically well written (as is Neil Atkinson’s article for the Guardian today re last weekend’s events in Paris). I have never felt happy about our response as a club or city to the horror of Heysel. From memory, i remember our main concerns at the time were:
1) what people were saying about us in newspaper acticles & on radio phone ins &
2) how our club would be affected by an indefinite ban from europe
The feelings of 39 families whose love ones didnt come back from a football match came a very distant 3rd, and I’m not proud to say that.
We obviously can’t change the past, but we can make sure nothing like it ever happens again, regardless of provocation.